Ryura's illness
by KaraMadora
Summary: Ryura gets sick, and it is up to Kara to take care of him. Now, both are getting new feelings towards eachother. When neither has loved before, how will they deal with these new emotions. RyuraxOC T for wet dreams and future chapters
1. Barrier Pox

Ryura, Kyora, and Jura and the Inuyasha universe belong to themselves and Rumiko Takahashi.

I own Kara, Shauna, Mikira, the concept of Barrier Pox, and the plot.

Profiles for the three girls are in my profile.

Enjoy!

Kara wakes up with a yawn. She quickly gets out of her bed, which consisted of a large cushy mattress, many pillows of varying thickness and a few blankets. She makes the bed as best she can, considering what it was made out of, then gets dressed and goes to make her breakfast, passing Ryura's closed door on the way. When she gets to the kitchen she finds Joura, Kyora, and Shauna already awake and eating their breakfasts. Nodding in greeting, She makes herself an omelet and sits down at the table, just as Miki sleepily walked through the door. "G' morning."

Kara looks up from her breakfast. "Morning. I left half of my omelet in the pan for your breakfast." She looks around. "Is Ryura not up yet? He is usually awake before me."

Kyora shakes his head. "I haven't seen him."

Joura nods in agreement, "Same here. He looked a bit pale yesterday. He may have caught something."

Kara frowns. "Caught something? I'll check on him after I finish breakfast."

Kyora looks at her "When you find out what is wrong, come back and tell us."

The dragon demon nods, then starts eating again. "I will." Once done, she puts her dishes in the sink and walks out of the kitchen. She heads out of the kitchen and through the living room, heading to the dragon themed hallway. Reaching Ryura's room, she knocks lightly on the door. "Ryura-sama? You awake?"

A low mutter is her only answer.

"I'm coming in. Okay?"

Another mutter.

She gently opens the door and peers inside. None of the lamps had been lit, making the room dark. Kara cautiously walks inside, spotting the Dragon War God sitting up in his bed.

He turns to glare at her. "What is it?"

She shrugged "You weren't there for breakfast and we wondered what was wrong." She moves over to a lamp "May I light this? It really isn't good for you to stay in the dark like that."

Ryura nods, but squints his eyes when she lit it.

She turns around to face at him again and a startled look crosses her face. "Oh. No wonder."

"What?" Ryura growls in annoyance. His head hurt and the light was a bit too bright, making his mood worse.

Kara looked a bit dismayed. "You have Barrier pox."

Ryura looked terrible. He was covered with red blisters and when he opened his mouth to demand an explanation, Kara could see there were red spots on his tongue as well.

"Barrier pox is an illness that most full demons and Humans get if they live behind a barrier for a few years. Hanyou can get it too, but it isn't as common. There is a rather extensive cure" She explains, and then turns to walk out the door. "I'll be right back. I have to tell your brothers what is wrong."

She hurries down the hall and finds everyone gathered in the living room. Kyora looks up from a book. "So what was wrong?"

Kara sighs. "He has Barrier pox." At the brother's confused looks, she explains once again. "Barrier pox is an illness you can catch only once. For some reason, Full demons and Humans usually get it after living behind a barrier for a few years. The cure is a bath in this special pond, at midnight. However, once the person has taken the bath, they get a fever that lasts for five days. During that time, someone has to take care of them."

Shauna smirked. "I thing you should."

Kara looks at the phoenix girl in alarm. "Me?"

"Yes you. We could still catch the pox if we take care of our brother when he has the fever." Joura agrees.

"But!"

Miki grins, "Aw come on! It's not like you have anything else to do! And he likes you best out of the three of us."

The dragon girl sighs in defeat at the wolf demon's comment., knowing she was right "Oh alright. Now when he is gone for the bath we need to fill the room with incense and steam from the pond water to clear his room of any contamination. Miki. I want you to get a bucket or two full of the pond water, with some of the algae in it. You remember the way. Right?"

Miki nods "right!" she the hurries off to complete her chore.

Shauna gets up. "I suppose this means I'm looking in storage for the incense burners and the steamers." She leaves, heading for the storage room. "I guess this means you are explaining everything to Ryura" she calls over her shoulder.

Kara nods. "Yeah"

Kyora smirks "Good luck"

She smiles at the Phoenix War god, "Thanks." Then turns and heads back down the hall.

She knocks at Ryura's door again, then enters. "I'm back."

The War god opened the door and glares at her. "Well? I suppose you know of a cure."

Kara took a deep breath. This was not going to be good. "There _IS_ a cure… but I don't think you will like it"

"Damn it just tell me already!" Ryura snapped. Kara sighed, "The only cure is at a secluded pond. On a moonlit night you are to walk in, buck naked, and scrub with a special algae what is found in the bottom for three minutes… and you are supposed to face west."

Ryura's eye twitched. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Now tell me the _REAL_ cure." He growled. Kara gulped "It _IS_ the real cure… Well you don't have to face west, but… Uh… Can I explain?" She flinched as the dragon god glowered at her "Make it quick. I don't feel very generous right now and being sick is making my mood worse."

Kara nodded "Understood. The pond has these special water plants that as far as we know are the only cure on the island. There are water lilies that bloom only under moonlight, and the pollen supposedly cures the illness that is in your throat and mouth. The algae cures the blisters on the skin. In the time it would take to completely finish scrubbing, you would have been in the water long enough for the plants to cure you. Then…"

Ryura interrupts her, "No way in hell am I going to go walking through the forest wearing nothing but my skin!" He glares at the Dragon girl, daring her to challenge him.

Kara snorted. "Afraid someone might see you?"

Ryura's glare intensified. "No! I just don't want to." His only response was a raised eyebrow "Then how are you going to get rid of the terribly itchy blisters?"

The blue dragon huffed. "My body will overcome it." Both dragons locked eyes, glaring at each other in a match of wills. Ryura reached over to scratch a red spot on his other arm. With out breaking eye contact, Kara reached over and slapped his hand away. "No scratching!"

Ryura had an almost comical pout on his face. "But it itches!"

"Then do the cure!"

"No!"

This time Kara's eye twitched. "You are being rather immature about this." She then sighs. "Listen… There is one more thing to the cure. After the night in the pond and the person returns home, the water takes effect. The person gets a fever that lasts about five days as the water cures the body. During that time, someone has to take care of them. Someone who is immune to the Pox."

Ryura scowls, and reaches over to his arm again. Kara growls slightly in warning, but stops when he simply starts rubbing the arm. "What's your point?" the War god asked, slightly miffed that she had kept this from him.

"Well, I was thinking, since you so love to order me around, that for those five days I am that person. Meaning that I wait on you hand and foot, and carry out your every order."

Ryura smirks evilly, the irritating blisters forgotten as he contemplates the possibilities. "Sounds good. But did you actually think of that?"

"Actually, once I found out what illness you had, my sisters pushed me into the job."

Ryura chuckles at her predicament. "They certainly like planning these kinds of things. Now why didn't my brothers volunteer?"

"Because they still stand a chance of getting the Barrier pox. Once you get Barrier pox you can't get it again, and my sisters and I, along with most of the islanders, have already had it. Besides, they were right there with my sisters in getting me to do this."

Ryura smirks, an idea coming to mind. "Alright, I'll go along with this 'cure' of yours. But only if you serve me for the entire week instead of just five days."

Kara gapes at him, then scowls when she realizes that this is the quickest way to get him to comply. "Fine. When it nears lunchtime I'll pack a lunch for both of us, as well as a dinner for you and take you to the pond. There is a hut there that you stay in until nighttime. Also bring a towel and a robe of some sort for after you get out of the pond. You have until sun-up before the fever sets in."

Ryura raises an eyebrow. "Bossy little thing, aren't you? Why cant I just wear the clothes I wore today when coming back?"

"Because they will be contaminated and if you use them you ruin the effects of the water's cure. You re-infect yourself." Kara ground out, her patience nearly run out. "I'm going to prepare everything. See you around noon." The dragon girl turns and walks away, deciding that she had spent enough time with him.

She goes back to the living room and sits down in a chair, fuming.

Kyora raises an eyebrow. "What's the matter?"

"Oh. Just the little fact that dear Ryura-sama refused to cooperate until I agreed to carry out his every order for a whole week instead of just five days." The dragon girl grumbles.

Shauna walks in, managing to hear her reply. "I think he is taking advantage of this."

Kara nods. "Yeah. I hope I don't go insane. Do we have everything?"

The phoenix girl nods. "Yeah. And Miki just got back."

"Good. Once we leave you are going to start with the incense. Do that for an hour and a half, and then take out all the papers and scrolls that could be damaged by the steam, especially the painting. Then start steaming the room."

Shauna nods. "An hour and a half for that too. And then I dry everything. Got it. It's almost lunchtime; you'd better start making the lunch and dinner for the trip."

Kara nods and heads off to the kitchen.

Joura chuckles. "I'm glad I'm not sick. I can imagine Mikira being overjoyed with the idea of taking care of me. She would probable baby talk me and fuss over everything, and give me flowers to make me feel better. I would probably go crazy."

Shauna nods. "Miki is a bit scary with the way she deals with stuff."

The two brothers nod in agreement and go back to their stuff.

In the kitchen Kara hums to herself as she makes the food. Singing always relaxed her, and she was feeling a bit better as she made the lunches. She made a bento box for both of them, then paused. 'What do I pack for dinner? There aren't fish in the pond, so I guess I'll have to pack that ramen stuff that I got a few years ago from that trading ship. I still have all the ingredients.' She thinks, then heads to the pantry. "Let's see. Dried noodles… sauces… sliced vegetables… check…check… check… check… yeah. That's it. I have everything. And the place has a fire pit and bowl, so I don't need to pack those." The dragon girl packs the food in a basket and smiles in satisfaction, only to groan as realization strikes. "Starting now, I will have to suffer his presence for more that I ever have in he entire time he has been on this island. Why me?!"

Hearing the remark, Miki pops her head in "Silly Onee-san! It's because you are more patient than any of us. Even I know that! Oh, and Nee-san says it's time to head to the lake."

Kara sighs. "Alright. Let's get this over with." She picks up the basket and starts to head to the dragon's room.

"Have fun!" Miki calls.

Kyora, Joura, and Shauna start chuckling as Kara's shoulders stiffen at Miki's words. They continue laughing as she starts grumbling under her breath as she continues on her way to the ailing war god's room.

Miki looks back and forth between the chuckling trio and Kara in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"


	2. The cure

I just realized how old this story is. If you read _Prisoner_, _Pet of a demon_, or even _How I live, _you will see a slight difference in my writing style. I started this story in July of 08, and since have made vast improvements in my writing style.

Please bear with me and this story. I hope that as you read each chapter you will see where my style is improving.

Again, as stated in my profile, you can read my works faster at .com where I have posted up to part 14, and have depictions of a few of the things mentioned in the story. (Starfire dragon lilies, two of Kara's artworks, and references for the OC girls Shauna, Mikira, and Kara)

* * *

Kara fumes all the way to Ryura's door. "Have fun? Have _fun_? What is that girl thinking? Of course I'm not going to _Have Fun_ when I'm doing this. I have to deal with one of the most egotistical and demanding demons on the face of the earth! There is nothing fun about that! Well all right, he is cute, and he is the best fighter I've seen, but still… Have fun?!!!?!"

She reaches the door, only to have it open, revealing a smirking Ryura. "Glad to know you think so highly of me." He grins as he watches her eyes widen.

"You- You heard that?!" Kara flushed slightly, recalling what she had said. She didn't think she had been muttering that loudly.

"Yeah. Being sick doesn't dull my hearing. And just your luck you are stuck with the most egotistical and demanding demon in the world. I really don't think you are going to have fun."

Kara huffs. "I didn't say that. Miki did. I am in complete disagreement with the statement." She grips the lunch basket a bit tighter and motions down the hall in the direction of her room. "Shall we get going?"

Ryura nods and follows her past her room and another room that he supposed was her studio. The brief glimpse inside revealed scrolls and statues that were in the process of being made. Another room further down the hallway contained finished pieces. From there the hallway got a bit narrower. Ryura frowned "Never finished this part?"

Kara nodded. "It's a work in progress. This hallway will be worked on when a new room is needed. If you noticed in the other hallways, some of the statues are carved from the very walls itself. When this hallway is needed, We'll be able to carve decorations as we build the hallway. So if you or your brothers need a room built for any reason, just tell us. This hallway is mainly reserved for Dragon use though."

Ryura nods. After a while the dirt begins to cover the floor and the walls widen and become rounded and uneven. They walk into a cave leading out into a dense forest.

Kara stands at the cave mouth and looks around, then heads down a small path. Ryura looks about as he follows her, his itching skin momentarily forgotten. He hadn't explored the entire island, and was a bit surprised that there was anything important here. However, so far, it seemed to be an ordinary forest path. There were bushes and grasses lining the trail, which had been covered with small pebbles to keep vegetation from growing on it.

Kara pointed at a plant with many vines and pale blue-violet star shaped flowers, which often popped up along the trail.

"The flowers from that plant glow in the dark. When you're on your way back tonight, the trail will be slightly lit by the plants, and easier to see."

They continued walking, and Kara stopped at a fork in the path. The vines followed both paths, and she pointed a little ways down the right path.

"That path takes you to the onsen. The path changes from pebbles to smooth flat rocks. That is the giveaway that you are headed for the hot springs."

Ryura huffs in annoyance, impatient to get this over with. "Whatever. Hurry up. My arms are driving me crazy" The dragon in front of him nods and picks up her pace, hefting the basket of food. "Not much farther. Uh. You did bring a towel and a robe or something… right?"

The ill demon behind her huffs, "No. I don't own any"

Kara sighs and shakes her head. "Why didn't you say so before we left? Whatever. I'm sure there will be something at the place."

They continue walking for a few more minutes and finally come to a stop at a small meadow. On one side of the meadow was a small, one roomed house and next to it Ryura could see a path leading down to a body of water.

"_This_ is it? It doesn't look like much." Ryura mutters.

Kara snorts. The illness was making him act rather childish. "Yes. This is it."

She heads inside the house and looks around. There were a few cobwebs and there was a thin layer of dust. In a corner was a cupboard with a pot and a carefully sealed basket in it. She opens the basket. Sure enough, there were clean towels and robes inside. Hearing a sneeze, she turns to find that Ryura had followed her inside, and was looking around in distaste.

"Why don't you wait outside in the meadow? I'll clean up in here. It shouldn't take long." She tells him. Ryura nods and heads back outside, taking the lunch basket with him.

She hauls the basket filled with towels outside, and, spotting a broom in the corner, grabs it and starts to sweep away the dirt and dust.

Ryura looks behind him as he hears a sound of someone coughing and sneezing. Although he could still see Kara, all the dust the broom was stirring up obscured her feet. He was about to make a snide remark, when a scent catches his nose. He gets up and follows the spicy-sweet fragrance to a batch of red-orange, cream speckled flowers. He stares at them for a while, trying to figure out what they were. He had never seen a flower like this that smelled like this before. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, breathing in the scent. It was an odd mixture of sharp and tangy, like the ripe berries in the fall, and also sweet like honey. For some reason, he felt relaxed.

"Those are Starfire Dragon Lilies. Their scent is really relaxing, huh?" He opens his eyes sharply as Kara's voice comes form right next to him. She was leaning down and breathing deeply, eyes partway closed, and a contented smile on her face.

"Yeah…" Ryura replies softly, watching her. Although he liked getting a rise out of her, he liked this expression on her face even more.

She looked up, and noticed his expression. "Hm? Something the matter?"

Thinking fast, Ryura replied "Uh… You said we would be eating lunch here?"

The dragon girl nods. "That's right. I've got the room clean, but we are going to eat outside if that's fine with you."

Ryura nods, "It's fine."

They walk back to where he had left the lunch basket and Kara pauses. "We'd better wash our hands before we eat. I know I need to. Come on. "

As his stomach grumbles, Ryura sighs at the additional delay, but follows her anyway. They head down the path next to the house and in a few seconds come to a pond. As Kara kneels down to wash her hands and face, Ryura studies the pond.

It was a few yards wide, and had deepened quickly to a little below chest height. He could see groups of water lilies clustered around shallower parts of the pond, and deep green plants growing underwater in certain areas. Satisfied with his examination, he crouches down beside Kara and washes his hands. Surprisingly, the moment his hands touched the water, he began to feel a little relief form the blisters.

He stares at the water for a moment, then thoroughly washes his hands and face, happy with the relief form itchiness it brought.

Once done washing they head back to the meadow and sit down on the grass. Kara opens the basket and hands him a bento box and opens her own.

Ryura glances at Kara occasionally as they quietly eat their lunch.

As little as he liked to admit it, she constantly amazed him. He recalled the day when he had fought her. The day he and his brothers had first came to the island. She was one of the last he had fought, before that damn miko interfered and sealed their powers in that box. He had enjoyed that fight immensely. The woman beside him had put up a remarkably good fight, refusing to give in. Heck, Even at the end of the fight, when he was panting to regain his breath and she was collapsed on the ground, she had still tried to fight, lifting her hand to scratch him and growling if he came too close. It was rather amusing, and at the same time, he slightly respected her for not giving in.

It had been a shock when she didn't try to fight with him the next morning. He was sitting in her living room, waiting for her to fly into a rage when she saw him. All that happened was Kara coming into the living room on her way to the kitchen, inclining her head politely, and asking if he wanted anything for breakfast. He still wondered about the change in behavior.

"Something wrong?" she asks, finally noticing the way he was staring at her.

"No. Just remembering the first few days we knew each other." Ryura responds. Kara nods. "Those days were kind of hectic." He shrugs. Those days didn't seem very hectic to him, but then again, his home hadn't just been taken over. They finish eating and pack up the empty bento boxes into the basket.

"I cleaned the pots in the house and I packed you ramen for your dinner. I also packed in a set of instructions, just in case." Kara says, getting up, basket in hand.

Ryura frowns at her. Did she really think he would forget the cure? "Anything else?"

She shakes her head. "No. I'll see you in the morning, or whenever you return."

He huffs, but nods his head in agreement. The Dragon War God watches her as she walks back to the path, stopping to turn back and give him a glare. "And no scratching!"

Before he could respond, she had vanished down the path.

Ryura glares at the place she had been. "You can't order me around." A slow smirk appears on his face as he comes to a realization. "You may be able to shout out orders because of your knowledge of this subject, but that wont last. When I get back tonight I'm going make sure you are too busy to order me around. You are mine, and I will make you understand that!" He pauses, a bit surprised at his last sentence. Kara was his? When had he started getting possessive of her? A wide smirk appears on his face. What did it matter? If she was his that gave him all the more excuse to make sure she followed orders. A woman was supposed to take orders from her man. That was the way things were, and he would enforce this. However, he would make sure not to crush her spirit. Kara wouldn't be Kara without it, and a spiritless female was no fun at all.

With a soft chuckle, he leans back and starts planning out the next seven days.


	3. cleaning up

I'm not sure what to call the home that the war gods and the sisters live in. It is basically a home carved out of a mountain's interior.

Because Kara traveles a lot, she has had access to many things that she normaly wouldnt. That does not explain the ramen though. I dont know what I was thinking when I wrote that. Same goes for the omelets mentioned in the first chapter.

Once again, check my deviantart for pictures. I have a picture of the Starfire Dragon lilly in my gallery

* * *

**~With Kara at her home, the hidden mansion~**

Once she got back to her home she sought out Shauna and Mikira

"Is everything ready?" She asks.

Shauna and Miki nod. "We have the steamers and the water, as well as the incense." They pick up sticks of incense and bring them inside the room. Shauna lights them and puts them in a holder, then they exit the room and tightly close the door.

"In about an hour we can go in there again." Shauna says.

After the time had passed, time spent playing a few board games and with all of them thinking up ways to keep Kara sane during the time she would spend with the vicious war god, they open the door. The incense had burned completely and the air was a bit smokey. Kara went in first and she was immediately assaulted by the scent of burned incense. She and Miki both start coughing, trying to get rid of the smell. Shauna grabs a large fan and, being the least affected, starts fanning the air, trying to clear the smoke out.

Kara finally stops coughing and wipes her eyes. "Wow! That's intense! I don't think we need to use the steam."

Miki nods in agreement. "Yeah, and we can save the water for when Ryura-san needs to drink something. It will speed up his recovery."

They both help Shauna fan the air and soon it smelled fresh again. The only traces of the incense were where the smell had seeped into the cloth.

The sisters look at each other.

"So… We're done?" Miki asks. Shauna nods "Seems that way."

Kara sighs "For you two maybe. I've got to get everything ready for the week that I'm going to spend with him." Shauna smirks "Sucks to be you."

The dragon demon glares at the phoenix. "Gee. I'm so glad I have your sympathy. I just don't know how I would cope without it."

Shauna laughs and then she and Miki leave.

Kara looks around the room and sighs. "I guess I'd better get used to being in this room." She hauls the buckets of water in the room and sets them on a desk. "I wonder where I'm going to sleep. I might not be able to hear him from my room, and I should be near him to check his health. So I guess I'm sleeping here on the rug."

The dragon demon walks around the room, checking to see if everything was ready. She turns when she hears someone in the doorway. Miki smiles at her and holds out a tray of food, "Dinner's ready. Since you need to watch over Ryura-dono, we decided that one of us is going to bring you meals."

Kara smiles. "Sounds good." She looks at the plate and finds it filled with rice and a hearty meat stew. On the side was a small bowl of salad. She happily eats the food, and chatting with her sister. Once she finishes Miki takes the empty tray and leaves.

Kara walks to her room, sits down on her bed, and pulls out a piece of paper and a pencil. _'I guess I'll draw to pass the time. I'll be able to hear him as he walks by… Well, as long as I don't get too absorbed in my work,'_ She thinks as she starts sketching.

~With Ryura at the pond~

It was dinnertime. The only problem was that Ryura wasn't quite sure how to make the Ramen that Kara had left him. He glares at the pile of ingredients angrily as his stomach grumbles. He examines the pile once more, and notices a slip of paper stuck under the packet of spices. He picks it up and scowls, now more annoyed with himself than with the female. Here in his hand were the instructions for how to prepare the Ramen, as well as last minute instructions that she had wanted to remind him of or had forgotten to tell him earlier. The war god sighs and starts making the ramen. He was fairly surprised that he liked the taste. Another thing that surprised him was that his throat wasn't as sore as it was before. It probably had something to do with using the pond water in the ramen. After eating he looks outside. It was sunset. Ryura stands outside watching the sky darken, then undresses. He narrows his eyes when he finds more red bumps on the rest of his body, but doesn't scratch any of them, imagining with a smirk what Kara's reaction would be if she found out he had.

He strides to the pond and steps in the cold water. As he gets farther in he feels water plants rub against his bare legs. The farther he went in the more soothed his skin felt. Once her gets up to his chest in water, he pauses. The moon was out and the lilies that he had seen in the daylight were glowing slightly. His throat was still sort of sore, but as he breathed in the pond air, he felt better.

_'It is sort of nice here. I wonder why it isn't used that often.'_ He silently asks as he plunges under the water for a waterweed. It was frigid under the water, and he quickly surfaces with a plant in hand. The plant had a rough texture, and was covered in a slight slime. The leaves were oval shaped and trailed up a vine, sort of like the kelp he had once seen when traveling with Gora.

He gathers the plant in his hand and starts rubbing it back and forth against his well-muscled arms and chest, then wades to shallower water and continues scrubbing, down his hardened abdomen and all over his lower body. He wouldn't risk even one part of himself to go un-scrubbed. He finishes his body and pauses. What about his hair? The war god gets an idea and picks more waterweeds. He gathers the slime off of the plant, and once he has a good handful, he rubs it into his blue hair, massaging it into his scalp. Once finished, he dives deeper and cleans the waterweed slime off of him.

The red eyed male gets out, rivulets of water running down his back. He walks over to where Kara had left the robe and puts it on, then heads in the direction of the hidden mansion. The flowers on the vines were indeed giving off a soft glow and he shakes his head in amusement. _'They sure like things that glow here.'_

He reaches the entrance that Kara had led him out of, and enters the tunnel.

He hoped that Kara would let him sleep for a bit before coming to check on him.

With Kara

Kara jolted awake as she heard Ryura's door shut. She swore she had only closed her eyes for a second. Oh well. The dragon demon gets up and stretches, then goes to check on the Dragon War God. She cautiously opens his door and peers in.

"Damn…I was sure you would let me have a little more time to myself" She blinks as she meets the red eyes of the speaker. When she just stands there he narrows his eyes "Well are you going to come in or are you going to leave me alone for a few more minutes?"

Kara sighs. "I'll be back in my room. I left a small bell by your bed. Ring it when you feel the first signs of the fever or you want something. But you should be aware that once I come back in I have to stay."

The blue haired demon nods and waved her away. "Got it. Now shoo!"

Kara glares at him and quickly leaves. Once in her room she falls onto her bed and sighs unhappily. _'I just knew he was going to be a jerk about this. Why did I bother being so nice and helpful today if this is what I get in return? Heck, He has been a bit of a jerk as long as I have known him. He won't ever change. But… today he seemed a bit nicer…. Just a little bit.'_

She sighs sadly and glances at the drawing she had made. It was a sketch of a celestial dragon and an oriental dragon gazing at the stars together. She shakes her head at the supposed symbolism in the piece. _'Right… Like that would ever happen.'_

Before long she hears a light ringing of the bell and sighs, gets up, and makes her way to Ryura's room.

"Something the matter?" she asks as she enters. Ryura blinks at her irritably, his gazed unfocused. "The fever has set in" He says softly. Kara walks over to the side of the bed and puts her hand gently against his forehead. It was rather hot and starting to get damp with sweat.

She props up the pillows behind his head and gently leans him against them, idly noticing that he was wearing the robe that she had left him. "Rest for a bit. I'll be right here." The dragon girl says softly.

Ryura closes his eyes and settles in against the pillows. The auburn haired demon takes a bit of cloth and soaks it in the bucket of the cool pond water, then wrings it out and places it on the sick dragon demon's forehead. The War God sighs and relaxes. Kara checks the cloth and, satisfied that it was still cool, sits down in one of the chairs, keeping a close watch on the ailing demon.

"Ano… What kind of demon are you?"

The blue eyed female looks up. The demon on the bed was frowning, as if troubled by something.

"What do you mean? You know I am a dragon." She asks, puzzled by his question.

Struggling to stay awake, Ryura blinks sleepily and yawns, but continues, "Yes… but what kind? Your scent is different from any dragon demon I've come across." _'Like a clear night after a storm, when the air is crisp and clean, but with an underlining scent of some flower, maybe a rose, added together with the smell that was uniquely her'_ he finishes mentally.

Kara paused. She had a different scent? She hadn't encountered many dragon demons, so she wasn't sure. Kara takes a deep breath, bracing herself for his reaction. "I'm a-" A light sound interrupts her. She looks sharply at the bed, and smiles softly. The powerful blue haired demon had succumbed to his body's demands for rest, and was now in a deep sleep, lightly snoring.

"Ah well. I'll tell you some other time. Goodnight my lord." Kara says softly. She changes the cloth on his forehead, curls up on the rug, and soon drifts off to sleep.


	4. Healing

Hello all.

If your wondering, here is the info for celestial dragons = .com/art/Celestial-Dragon-90366726

btw, there will be a reference sheet for the celestial dragon form soon.

Ryura was my the first experament with "Manly hormonal urges". If you compare it with _Pet of a Demon_, you'll see that this chapter is my first time talking about such things, and I tend to shy away from saying whats going on directly.

I'd still like to know how to make links for either the profile or stories, and how to get line breaks to work

* * *

Once Kara gets to the stream she looks around. The sun was shining through the branches and the air was pleasantly warm. The vegetation was a healthy green and everything seemed fine. Still, she frowned. Ryura was nowhere in sight. She shakes her head and, after finding the right spot, sits down on a rock. A few seconds later she hears him approach. He looks around and then looks questioningly at her.

"Go sit on that rock that is in the shallows and wrap this around your waist. Be sure to take your robe off. " She says as she hands him a towel.

Ryura looks at the towel for a second then shrugs off the robe, smirking when Kara blushes and swiftly turns around. _'I thought so.'_

He wraps the towel around his waist and wades into the stream, allowing the refreshingly cool water to swirl around his ankles and lower thighs. Ryura sits on the rock that Kara had pointed to and smirks at Kara's back. "So what am I supposed to do? Just sit here?" From the washcloth in her hand he had a pretty good idea of what she had in mind. _'A sponge bath?'_

Turning around, Kara nods and steps into the water, stopping when she is next to him. She didn't trust her voice. Without saying a word, she dips the washcloth in the stream, wrings it out, and starts rubbing his neck and back.

Ryura relaxes. Her touch was soothing and the cool river water felt good against his burning skin. There was only one problem. He was being treated as if he was her master and there was one thing wrong. He wanted to hear her voice.

"So… you never told me what type of dragon you are." He felt her pause, then the washcloth was removed from his neck. He hears her dip it in the water again and wring it out.

Just when he was beginning to think she wasn't going to answer, she said in a soft voice "Could you lift an arm please?"

It wasn't the response he had in mind, bit he lifted his right arm anyway. As Kara rubbed the cloth underneath his arm and down his side, she took a deep breath and answered his question.

"I'm not surprised that you haven't met one of my kind before. My type is very rare. Almost considered a myth. Tell you what? I'll tell you about what I am without saying it outright, and you have to figure it out by what I tell you. Sound ok?"

Ryura smirked. Games of intellect were hard to come by. This was going to be interesting. "Sure"

After circling around to rub his other side, Kara begins "This dragon is a pale color. By default it has two elements it uses. The first element can be used for healing."

Ryura frowns in thought. _'Two elements… that could be most of the elemental dragons. Pale color… Not many have that. Mostly ice, air, or ones that live in caves or deal with spiritual stuff are that color. Healing element… Spiritual dragons heal… and one other…'_

He gestures for her to go on. After re-wetting the cloth she moves to his chest, rubbing the cloth gently against his skin. After a moment of thought, she continues, "The secondary element changes from dragon to dragon. This dragon can fly great distances, and gains it's power from the night. People have said that they always seem to glow or glimmer with a strange light."

Ryura smirks. He knew what she was now, and he wasn't surprised that she had kept it a secret. _'She's a Celestial. Yes. They get their power from the moon and stars, and excess power floats around them, making them seem to glow. I've even heard that they can fly to the stars. Star-power can heal, and can also harm. So that's what she was fighting me with. I wonder what her secondary element it though…'_

Without warning, he grabs her shoulder, gets up, and pulls her into the deepest shade he could find. Sure enough, her skin was faintly glowing, and there were faint glimmers in her hair. The jewel on her forehead glowed a soft blue as well.

The dragon demon looks at her wide-eyed expression and laughs. "Let me guess… you're a celestial. It explains a few things. Don't you worry, your secret is safe with me."

Kara blinks and relaxes. She smiles slightly. "Thanks."

Ryura nods, picks up his robe, and slides it on. "I'm feeling cooler now, so let's head back inside."

Kara nods and they head back together.

* * *

Ryura sighs as he lay in the bed. He felt groggy and drained, his reaction time was slower, and his senses were dulled. He hated being sick. The only thing he liked about it was the arrangement he had made with Kara.

He smirks as he thinks of the things he had planned for her after he got better. _'This is going to be entertaining. I cant wait until I recover'_

Kara steps inside his room with lunches for the both of them. She raises an eyebrow at the smirk on his face, then shrugs and sets the food on his bedside table.

The clink of the plates caught Ryura's attention, and he sits up so that he could eat. He takes a pair of chopsticks and digs in to the meal. It was simple yet tasty food; rice topped with small chunks of cooked meat and vegetables, covered in thick gravy. For the drink there was a simple cup of water, though he suspected it was water from the pond, from the way it soothed his throat.

Kara glances at the blue haired dragon as they ate. The red blisters were fading quickly and were now a reddish pink, instead of the deep red color they were before. _'I bet he is going to heal early. Darn. That means more days that I have to obey him. Though… he has been rather nice lately. Maybe it wont be so bad.'_ The blue-eyed demon finishes her meal, and waits for the other dragon to finish his. Once he is done, Kara takes both their plates and sets them outside the door.

When she comes back she notices Ryura is looking around.

"Need something?" She asks.

"I want something to _do_." He glances around again, and his gaze falls on a small pile of books. "Read to me."

Kara follows his gaze. "Ok. Any particular story?" Getting a "No" as an answer, she sits down and picks up a book, and by the light of the lamp, begins to read.

Ryura listens as she told the story, making comments now and again at first, but soon falls into a respectful silence, realizing that she was telling of her own travels and the travels of her sisters.

She told of nights spent outside in meadows, watching for shooting stars and pointing out constellations; of summers swimming in cool lakes; winters spent staying warm and playing in the snow; of finding company in each other.

Ryura's mind soon wanders, and listens with only half an ear. For the most part he was eyeing her figure, running his gaze over the curves of her body. Whit a start, he realizes she had always looked like this and wonders why he had never noticed. He caught himself imagining what he could do to her, entertaining thoughts of her beneath him, that beautiful voice coming out of her lips in cries of pleasure, and her soft skin rubbing against his in the throes of passion. His hakamas got tighter and he let out a small, barely noticeable growl of pleasure.

However, Kara heard and paused her reading to look up at him with a raised eyebrow. Not wanting to reveal what he had been thinking, he motions her to continue, and quickly started paying more attention to what she was reading.

He felt a little wistful as he heard of all the fun she and her sisters had together, wishing half-heartedly that he could have joined them.

"Ow…" The soft noise jolts him out of his reverie, and he looks up to see the auburn haired female looking at her finger. The scent of blood reaches his nose and Ryura realizes she had cut her finger on the paper.

"Come here."

Kara gets up from her chair and walks the short distance to his bedside. The blue haired dragon gently takes he injured finger and brings it to his lips. Kara's eyes widen and her breath hitches as he softly licks the blood away.

Ryura's eyes clouded. Her blood tasted sweet; another thing to add to his fantasies. But not now.

Finally he lets go of her finger. But instead of pulling away, he grabs her arms and pulls the startled female onto his chest, wrapping his arms possessively around her waist.

He could feel the heat of her blush and tried not to smirk. Instead he pulled her onto his lap, and held her close.

* * *

Kara finally found her voice. "Ano… Ryura?"

"Shhh…. Just relax." A gentle reassurance.

_'A little hard to do. What is he thinking? What is he doing?'_ Despite the thought, Kara slowly relaxes and leans back into his embrace.

The blue dragon demon behind her smirks in victory, and tightens his grip, enjoying her company.

They stayed like that for a long time. Ryura had freed a hand, and was softly running his fingers through her hair. Kara had her eyes closed, enjoying his embrace. They sat like that through the afternoon, not saying a word.

"Knock. Knock."

Ryura looks up to find Mikira peeking inside the room. "Ano… Where is Kara? She was supposed to tell me what you two are having for dinner."

Ryura glances at the dragon girl in his arms and smirks. She was asleep, comfortably snuggled up against him. With a sigh he lightly shakes her shoulder. "Kara?"

She didn't wake up. What she _did_ do was snuggle closer with a contented murmur. The red-eyed demon smiles, and turns to the wolf demon. "She isn't waking up. We'll skip dinner tonight."

Mikira frowns at him, then leaves, muttering something about how it wasn't good to skip meals when sick.

With a sigh, the ill demon rolls Kara so that she was against his side, then, after covering her with the blanket, turns so that her back is against his chest. He liked the feeling of her body against his. He tucks one arm under her head, and rests the other against her waist. She sighs and snuggles closer, causing him to gasp as her bottom brushes against his crotch.

He sighs again, and rests his head near her neck, breathing in her scent.

With a soft smile, he closes his eyes and falls asleep, dreaming of the girl in his arms.

* * *

_Soft cries of pleasure. The smack of skin against skin. Smooth flesh rubbing against each other. Blue and red hair mingling together._ Ryura woke with a start, painfully aroused_. 'Damn! What a dream!'_

He eases his way out of bed, smirking softly as Kara, still deep in sleep, whines in displeasure at the sudden lack of warmth, and reaches for where he used to be. Finding nothing, she whimpers and curls up.

Ryura frowns. He wanted to get back in bed, but he currently had a hard problem that he had to take care of. He silently leaves his room, headed in the direction of the stream. Once there, he sets down the towel he had picked up along the way, and stripped out of his robe. The aroused demon steps into the water, flinching as the cold water contacts his skin. Ryura braces himself, then scoops up water and pours it over his body. The freezing liquid had the desired effect. He gets out of the stream, dries off, puts on his robe, then heads back to his room.

He gets back in bad and smiles as Kara snuggles against him. The blue haired demon wraps his arms around her waist and drifts off in about the same position as last time.


	5. Recovery

Hey! Sorry this story has been mostly dead. I've been having more inspiration for Suzaku's Prisoner lately... (though Suzaku seems to be a bit inactive at the moment too.... . Not much activity lately from any of my muses. Not good) Uh...

Thank you for being patient with me if you added this story to your alerts. I hope you continue to do so, as this semester is a bit hectic.

Sorry sorry. I'll try to be better about working on my stories.

If you have any questions about the story or characters or anything, just send me a message. If anything it will get me thinking about the story more.

Reviews are loved. Doesnt have to be long or anything. Just a small sentence will do. I love hearing what you think of my work.

Some readers may find the quality of this story a bit lacking compared to Prisoner, especially in the first few chapters. This is because I started this story long before Prisoner, and my writing skills have improved since then.

* * *

Warm.

Safe.

Teeth against neck.

_'What?'_

Kara's eyes flew open as the last sensation registered. She was not in her room. Someone was holding her. And that someone was lightly nibbling her neck.

She stiffens, and the nibbling stops. The arms tighten, pulling her against a firm chest. "…Mine…" Ryura's soft whisper reaches her ears. He sounded like he was still asleep.

Ryura's room. She was in Ryura's room. She recalled him holding her, and then nothing else. She must have fallen asleep.

Kara sighs and relaxes. She wouldn't be going anywhere soon, so best just to relax for now.

She snuggles into Ryura's embrace and smiles as he nuzzles her neck. She was amused to know that he was a cuddler when he was asleep. After a bit, Ryura wakes up, releasing her in order to stretch. She rolls over to face him and they both smile at each other.

"Good morning…" Kara says softly.

He smirks at her slight blush, thinking to himself that she looked rather cute in the morning. "Good morning to you too."

The two dragon demons stare at each other for a while longer. Kara blushes even more as she realizes that Ryura was practically naked underneath his robe. Feeling playful, Ryura leans forward so that the robe fell around his shoulders, grinning as her eyes widen.

"You're awfully cute when you do that." He whispers silkily in her ear.

She gapes at him in surprise, and the red-eyed demon grins. He was about to tease her further when both their stomachs grumble, causing Kara to blush even more and Ryura to chuckle.

"We didn't have dinner, remember?"

"Oh…"

She starts to rise, when a thought strikes her. Ryura watches as her expression changes to one of alarm, and was about to speak when suddenly her hands were against his chest and running along his arms. Startled, he asks, "What are you doing?"

"Your blisters have completely vanished. The cure doesn't usually act this quickly."

Ryura smirked, but then caught his breath as her hand gently glided against his sensitive skin. He bites back a moan and grabs her hands. "Stop. Now."

Kara freezes and looks at him questioningly.

He shakes his head and pokes her stomach, hoping to distract her. "It's time to eat."

As if on cue, there was a knock on his door. Kara scrambles out of the bad and hurries to the door where Miki and Shauna greet her. "How is he?" Miki asks.

"Completely cured." Kara replies, glancing back into the room.

Shauna raises an eyebrow "Even so, you should keep him in the room for the rest of today. You never know."

Her sister takes the trays and heads back inside. "Yeah."

Shauna and Miki look at each other as the door closes. "That was fast. Do you think Kara had anything to do with it?" Mikira asks.

Shauna shrugs "Probably. Her type are good at healing. She probably unconsciously healed him in her sleep last night. And Ryura-sama is a strong demon. He probably would have healed quickly without Kara tending to him."

"Your probably right. Hey! Let's go tell Kyoura and Joura-kun that Ryura is better!" the hyper wolf demon exclaims

Shauna sighs, then smiles. "Ok." The two siblings then head off to search for the two brothers.

Shauna finds Kyoura in the library, reading some of her earlier works. The red haired looks up as she approaches, his lips turning up in a smile. Shauna doubted that she would ever get used to the sight of him wearing his green lipstick. The black haired woman sits down on the cushion beside her male counterpart. "I can't believe you like that early crap."

Kyoura shrugs. "They have a different style than you write in now. I like the differences."

"But that style isn't me anymore." Shauna huffs.

"I still like it" Kyoura chuckles, then continues reading. The red-eyed female settles down beside him, slightly leaning against his shoulder, knowing that the fire demon would ask when he was ready. Still reading, he shifts so that she was against his chest, and wraps an arm around her waist.

Shauna relaxes, tension that she hadn't been aware of dissipating into nothingness. The Pheonix war god finishes the poem, and tilts his head to look at the woman in his arms. "So how is my brother Ryura?"

"According to Kara, he has made a full recovery. She plans on keeping him away from everyone for the rest of today though. Less chance of any residue disease from spreading that way." Comes Shauna's reply.

Kyoura thinks fro a few seconds, then nods agreement. "That is a good idea." He then adds "better than some of yours"

Shauna stiffened and glares at the smug male. "Yours aren't so great either."

"True… but yours are worse."

"Really? Want to back that up?"

By this time they were both glaring at each other, though Kyoura's eyes sparkled with amusement as he replied,

"Certainly. You think you can beat me? A God?"

"I have before."

"Then let's take this to the cliffs. Then we shall see who is superior."

Shauna got up and made a mock bow to the man in front of her. "Indeed we shall."

Kyoura gets up and heads out the library door, with Shauna following. They exchanged friendly barbs and backhanded insults all the way to the cliff, where they then proceeded to try and outdo the other in their ability to control and manipulate fire.

* * *

Shauna smirked. She had manipulated her fire to form a long serpentine figure, which was currently slithering though the air. Kyoura's fire birds had been "eaten" by the fire snake some time ago, and he had since given in. Shauna flicks two fingers at the snake, and it explodes in the air.

The red haired demon beside her sighed. "You are too flashy."

"It comes from having to entertain Miki for so long, and from having very little competition to test my attacks on."

He turns away. "You shouldn't let your abilities grow dull like that."

"I know… But you four scared all the demons away. They don't attack the island anymore. Plus you never let me off the island, so I cant attack anyone on the mainland."

Kyoura sighs. "That is true… "

Shauna walks ahead of him, adding "We need more paper for my writings and Kara's art. We also need more tea, fabrics, spices, and supplies. Things only found on the mainland."

Another sigh. "I'll think about it."

"Nee-san! Kyoura-kun!"

The two phoenixes look up to see Mikira cheerfully waving at them from her perch on Joura's shoulders. The tiger demon had a disgruntled expression on his face, and growled under his breath every time the hyper wolf demon on his shoulders shifted to another position.

When he reaches the pair, he grins. "So Ryura is feeling better?"

Shauna glances at her youngest sister, then responds. "Yeah. Didn't Miki tell you?"

"Yeah, but she is a bit hard to understand when she is excited."

Miki frowns at his sentence and jumps down to the grassy floor. "I'm going to check on Kara. Bye!" The blond haired demon announces, then scurries off.

Joura stretches. "Finally! I thought she'd never leave!"

Kyoura grins. "I'm glad that she likes you better. I would have fried her to a crisp within a month."

Shauna gives the demon a hard glance. "Then you'd have Kara and I to deal with."

"I know."

"Shall we go rescue Kara and Ryura from my sister?"

"Nah. I don't want to deal with her again."

* * *

Ryura looks up as Kara walks in with a tray of food for the both of them. She shakes her head as she sets it down on the table. "Those sisters of mine must have forgotten to bring in the food. The tray was sitting on the dining room table getting cold."

The red-eyed demon snorts as he walks over to the small table in his room. From what he had seen, the female demons hadn't expected him to recover so quickly. He was a bit disappointed that they would underestimate his healing abilities, but they probably hadn't had strong male demons around in quite some time. The only males on the island were half demons after all.

They eat in silence. Kara glances up at him every once in a while, a small blush on her cheeks. _'Does he even realize that his robe is hanging open? Geez, look at those muscles! Wait! Bad Kara! But he was sleeping so close last night...' _

Ryura was the first to finish breakfast, unaware of the argument going on in Kara's mind. He waits patiently for Kara to finish eating, then speaks. "So, am I able to leave the room, or do I have to stay here all day?"

Kara thinks for a moment. "Well… Your room needs to air out for a bit, so we are going outside. We have to keep you away from your brothers though, so they don't get sick."

"How far away?"

"About as far as two of your swords, if they were placed end to end."

Ryura sighs "That's fine." He then looks at her in a way that made her uneasy. "You know, I'm in charge now that I am better..."

The red haired female eyes him warily. "Yeah?"

"So I was wondering if you wanted to take a bath or visit the onsen before you spend the rest of the week with me."

Kara stares at him in surprise. That was one of the last things she thought he'd say. "Ok. You don't mind if I go right now?"

"Not at all."

"Oh." She gets up and takes the trays. "I'll just put these away, then I'll be off."

Ryura nods and waits until she had left, then smirks. _'When she's gone, I'll be able to check her room for the clothes and other stuff.'_ He glances at the scroll painting on his wall, depicting two dragons, flying high above the clouds. He had taken it from her room in the first week after he had taken over, with a "You lost, so all of this is mine now," attitude. Later he had learned that she had made the painting herself, taking a whole month to work on it. Since then he had hung it up and taken better care of it, whereas before it has been carelessly thrown in a corner with other 'loot'. Most of the furniture was taken from her work room. Kara had explained that she had made the beds, tables, chairs, and upholstery when her sisters and she were still deciding how they wanted to decorate their rooms.

_'I wonder what she's going to do when we need to restock. I suppose I could get Gora to transport the items back to the island. That would make it easier for her to get items. I bet before she traveled in her full demon form.'

* * *

_

Kara sets the tray and plates in the basin of water, then heads into the pantry. "Nee-san?" Mikira pokes her head in and grins happily. "Oh hi Nee-san! Ryura is letting you out?"

"Just to take a bath… We'll be spending most of the day outside, to let his room air out." The older girl replies

"Ok. I'll go tell Joura and Sister and Koura. Bye!" With that, she vanished.

Kara smiles and heads out the door, grabbing a towel on her way out. Once she reaches the onsen she strips and slides into the deliciously hot water. _'I think I'll soak a bit. This is a nice change from washing up in the stream.'_ After a bit, she heard footsteps coming from the path. Alarmed, she ducks down and yells "Someone is already here!"

The footsteps stop for a moment, and Shauna's voice calls "It's Shauna. May I still join you?"

"Sure!" Kara moves to the other side of the hot spring, and watches as her sister looks over her shoulder before undressing and getting in.

"Something the matter?"

Shauna sighs as she slips deeper into the water. "Just Kyoura, like always. That day, I used my powers and beat him. Now he wont leave me alone. Thinks that my abilities are something he can learn if he watches me… or something like that. It's just so _frustrating_, especially when I want time alone."

Her eyes flash angrily and a few sparks appear in the moist air. "Then today he says my skills are getting dull and too flashy, _after_ I beat him again. Not my fault he and his brothers have scared off any challengers. The only use I have for my powers is to entertain Mikira." The sparks turn to fist sized balls of flame, and hovered just above the water. Kara watched with amazement. Shauna usually came to her to rant, and there were the usual flames-in-midair, but this was the first time she had seen the anger-flame get that close to the water without going out.

"Not to mention he never lets me go to the mainland with him when the barrier drops. It's not like I'd just up and run away when everything I know is here." Shauna continues. The flames get bigger and touch the water. A thick steam rises from the flames and Kara bites back a chuckle. _'Oh, she's angry alright. Quite a show really. Kyoura must have really gotten under her skin this time.'_

Shauna takes a deep breath and attempts to calm down, and Kara tries to sooth her "I don't think he really understands how much you liked fighting and how much you take pride in your unique abilities. He certainly doesn't understand that you'd never leave us, seeing as so many of the villagers have made escape attempts each year." Kara pauses, then asks "Have you ever… explained to him why you want to go to the mainland or why you wouldn't leave?"

Shauna looks surprised "No. I haven't. I should probably do that." She smiles at her sister "Thanks. You always seem to have a way of working out a solution."

The dragon demon nods and leans against the rock behind her, content to just relax for the moment.


End file.
